Fairmont

Town and administrative headquarters of Martin County, southwest Minnesota; population (1990) 11,300. It is located 85 km/53 mi west of Albert Lea and 16 km/10 mi north of the Iowa state border. Originally a trading centre for the area's agricultural products, it was the site of Fort Fairmont (1862), erected to protect settlers from Dakota Indians. The town's industries produce railway maintenance equipment, polyethylene film, frozen and canned foods, and cement blocks. It also serves as the gateway to many recreational lakes in the vicinity.

Fairmont

Town and administrative headquarters of Marion County, north West Virginia; population (1990) 20,200. It is located 30 km/19 mi southwest of Morgantown, where the Tygart and West Fork rivers join to form the Monongahela River. After the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad arrived in 1852, the area's bituminous coalfield became key to the economy; coal production remains the chief industry. Mining machinery, glass, aluminium and steel products, and fluorescent lamps are produced by the town's industries. It is home to Fairmont College (1865), and Prickett's Fort and Valley Falls state parks are nearby.